Details emerge from Marengo gun incident

WOODSTOCK – Court documents from a search warrant show the police account of what happened the day a Marengo man allegedly barricaded himself in his basement and pointed a handgun at deputies.

Edward P. Bolen, 49, has been charged with aggravated assault and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, as well as additional misdemeanor counts, after the Sept. 29 incident.

According to an affidavit for a search warrant signed by Detective Jennifer Garafol of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Zane Seipler went to the home at 2905 Northwest Road in an attempt to serve Bolen with an arrest warrant for domestic battery.

Seipler contacted dispatch and requested Deputy Robert Chamberlain’s assistance because Bolen was running inside the home.

Chamberlain arrived and met with Seipler, who said Bolen was inside and refused orders to leave.

The deputies checked the doors, which were secured.

Chamberlain went to the back of the house and, through a window, saw Bolen and another man.

“Bolen then refused to open the door and Deputy Chamberlain lost visual contact with Bolen as Bolen exited the room he was initially standing in,” Garafol wrote.

Chamberlain then told the other man to unlock the door and leave, which he did.

Chamberlain and Seipler then went into the house through the back door and unlocked the front door so another deputy could come in.

After hearing Bolen’s voice coming from the basement, Chamberlain and Seipler went down a stairway and into an unlit area.

At that time, Chamberlain allegedly saw Bolen with an outstretched arm holding a handgun that was pointed in his and Seipler’s direction.

Chamberlain dropped to one knee and said, “He’s got a gun, drop the gun.”

“Deputy Chamberlain observed Bolen’s outstretched arm to be shaking but continuing to point the gun in Deputy Chamberlain and Deputy Seipler’s direction,” Garafol wrote.

Chamberlain then heard two shots fired from behind him and saw Bolen run into a room.

“It was determined that Deputy Seipler fired two rounds at Bolen from his service weapon,” Garafol wrote. “Bolen barricaded himself inside the room and refused lawful orders to exit the room.”

Seipler then dispatched for a SWAT team to be activated for a barricaded gunman.

Chamberlain and Seipler began negotiating with Bolen to persuade him to leave.

When SWAT team members arrived, Seipler exited the basement to debrief them.

“While negotiating with Bolen, the door leading to the room Bolen was occupying opened and Bolen was holding a handgun in his raised left hand,” Garafol wrote. “Deputy Chamberlain heard gun shots from the front and side of Deputy Chamberlain’s location at which time Bolen threw the handgun he was holding and returned back into the room.”

SWAT team members entered the basement, entered the room Bolen was inside, and took Bolen into custody.

Although it is unclear from the document who fired the second set of shots, the sheriff’s office previously said in a news release that a tactical squad fired beanbag rounds that incapacitated Bolen.

They also said Bolen brandished a knife.

Bolen was treated at a hospital before being released into police custody. No deputies were injured.

The Illinois State Police are investigating the incident, and spokeswoman Monique Bond said Friday that it is ongoing.

Bolen’s attorney, Daniel Hofmann, said it appears that his client never fired at police.

“The government has to prove each and every element of each charge against him,” Hofmann said.

Garafol is very honest and has a lot of integrity, Hofmann said, but he declined to comment further about the case.

An initial search by the sheriff’s office and state police revealed a video surveillance system including a camera. This second search was for a USB storage device, but the inventory indicates nothing was found.

Seipler also was part of an officer-involved shooting in 2006, when he shot David K. Maxson of Wonder Lake twice with a beanbag gun.

Although the pellet-filled bags are typically not lethal, Maxson died four days later. The state police investigation into that incident determined Seipler acted appropriately and was justified in using force to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or another person.

Maxson had threatened to kill himself or police officers who attempted to subdue him and waved a knife, police said.